A calf-roping grandma and other contestants at the Senior National Finals Rodeo

Rodeo contestants show up during registration day for the Senior National Finals Rodeo at Horseman’s Park in Las Vegas Tuesday, October 4, 2011.

By April Corbin

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 | 3 p.m.

The strapping cowboys and cowgirls who thunder into the Thomas & Mack Center every December for the National Finals Rodeo aren’t the only ropers and riders who come to Las Vegas to compete for glory and trophies.

This week, Las Vegas hosts the Senior National Finals Rodeo.

Yes, such an event exists.

“We surprise people all the time,” says Chuck Bowling, the president of the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association, acknowledging that most people see rodeo as a young person’s sport.

The first SNFR was held in 1979, the product of a group of cowboys who recognized the need for an association focused on aging men and women who felt they could no longer hold their own against younger competitors. Since then, they have expanded to include more than 50 rodeos per year, including the annual finals, held in Las Vegas.

This year, the event runs Wednesday through Saturday at Horseman’s Park.

SNFR consists of all the competitions seen at typical rodeos, including bareback riding, barrel racing and calf roping. The only major differences are that competitors must be at least 40 years old and competitions are broken into age groups.

Bowling says the ages of participants range from just-turned-40 to mid-80s. While many have wrestled, roped and ridden in rodeos throughout their lives, he said, others were introduced to the events much later in life.

“We have had people who knew nothing about the rodeo until they retired, then they started,” he said, adding that people fall in love with the strong sense of community and the traveling.

So just who are these mysterious men and women of the SNFR? Here are a few of this year’s competitors.

Photo by Leila Navidi
Ricky Lambert

Age: 40

From: Wiggins, Co.

Competitions: Calf roping, ribbon roping, team roping

Quotable: “A lot of people think we are hard on the animals, but we put a lot of time and money into them. The rodeo is based in ranching. It’s a sport, sure, but it’s also a way of life.”
Photo by Leila Navidi
Kenny Heinze

Age: 57

From: Corey, Co.

Competitions: Bareback riding

Quotable: “I have been on horses since I was 3 or 4, competing since I was 16 and 17. I still get just as nervous now as the first time I competed.”
Photo by Leila Navidi
Susan Perry

Age: 60

From: Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada

Competitions: Barrel racing, ribbon roping

Quotable: “These aren’t individual sports. You have everything from the vet, to trainers, to your buddies in the stable. I travel a long way for these competitions and there are people who help me out. They’ll cook for me. The support system here is amazing.”
Photo by Leila Navidi
John Birks

Age: 52

From: Australia

Competitions: Bareback riding

Quotable: “I have retired (from competing in rodeos) four times, but there is no life after rodeo.”
Photo by Leila Navidi
Donna Shedeed

Age: 75

From: Hermosa, S.D.

Competitions: Team roping

Quotable: “When I turned 40 I went to an old-timers rodeo and they looked and me and said, ‘What are you doing here?’ That was a good thing to hear!”
Photo by Leila Navidi
Dusty Miller

Age: 63

From: Comanche, Texas

Competitions: Calf roping

Quotable: “If someone’s horse is hurt, we will lend them a horse. Everyone here is a good sport about it, but it does get competitive.”